Life As Desolation
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Flash fiction. An anonymous man living under the reign of the Orbs in New York reflects on what life has become since the invasion.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Manhunter._ The Murry siblings designed and wrote the series, and Sierra On-Line created and distributed it. I'm just a fan playing around with the story of the games.

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**Life As Desolation**

It has never been the same since the Orbs attacked the Earth two years ago. Their fleet of ships wrecked havoc all over the skyscrapers and smaller buildings all over our fair city of New York. Then they released their security robots on us, killing many who attempted to resist them. Soon, the Orbs had tight control over the entirety of the city and state, and possibly the whole world, as well.

Now, we can't go anywhere without being tracked by those global tracking devices they put in our necks, so if someone does something wrong, one of those so-called "Orb policemen," the Manhunters, finds us eventually, and the Orbs inflict punishment on us. These nondescript brown robes we have to wear are such a bother, too, because for some reason, those floating eyeballs don't want us to easily tell each other apart, and we can't even speak to each other, using only the simplest forms of communication to get along with others.

How are we supposed to go on with our lives like this? The Orbs have taken over Bellevue Hospital entirely, and so we can't go there to have sicknesses and injuries treated, and babies can't be born there. I've known a lot of people who have died from illness over the last two years, and I heard rumors that some babies were born in private homes instead of the hospital or a clinic. And sometimes, the Orbs apparently don't seem to find them fit to be alive, either. I once saw an Orb security robot blast a preschooler to death, _after_ killing his mother, first.

Where is God when we need Him? Why has He forsaken us?

To be sure, most of us adults can still go on with our lives to a certain extent. Some churches and office buildings are still open, as well as some theaters and bookstores, though the bookstores mostly sell used books now that the Orb Alliance has taken over. I go to the Flatbush Bar on occasion to try to drown my sorrows and see if there's anyone whom I can clandestinely communicate with, because the Orbs and their robots don't visit that part of town very often. Old movies are shown at the movie theaters, too, and people are free to watch them, as long as they make no noises whatsoever while doing so. I've gone to see some of them, too.

Whenever I walk around, particularly outside, I feel a little funny, like I'm stiff and tight, unable to walk as well as I used to. It's like I'm getting sluggish and stupid in my movements. I haven't failed to notice that most other people act the same way when they move around. Maybe it has something to do with that red gas that's always spewing out of the Statue of Liberty's right arm these days. Ever since the skies turned red, the Orbs seem to be a lot stronger than us.

Life is going to crap for all of New York. I lost contact with most of my family, and my wife was shot and killed by an Orb robot a year ago. My children, mostly fully grown, are in their own precarious situations in this crisis. I lost my job as a factory worker, and now I have to scrounge for scrap metal in dangerous parts of town. Everything's a mess.

Of course, the whole city is dangerous these days. The influence of the Orbs has made much of it go to unrepaired waste. There's graffiti all over the buildings' walls, and stinking trash and refuse are spilled everywhere. The people are starting to become dangerous, as well. Some of the punks in town are taking advantage of the situation, and are killing or torturing innocent people who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wonder, too, if the Manhunters aren't the only humans working for the Orb Alliance.

I wonder how much longer we can last. It seems like the Orbs want to destroy us, but why they're doing it so slowly is beyond me. They could have just blown up the entire planet, or they could have done an orbital bombardment of all the popular and highly populated areas. The Orbs are just as much an enigma as they are a bunch of damn pests. But the fact that they're killing us slowly instead of quickly _may_ prove to be their undoing. Maybe there's somebody, or an underground resistance movement, forming to fight against the Orbs, somewhere. It's not beyond possibility. Or maybe a Manhunter will surprise the Orbs and turn against them, fighting for our side.

I suppose we can only hope and pray for the day when that happens, because it's our only hope.


End file.
